Jerry Brown doesn’t like ranked-choice voting

Gov. Jerry Brown says he finds the ranked-choice voting system used in Oakland and some other cities to be “complicated” and not “a
great way to pick candidates.”

“Well I find the ranked-choice voting complicated and I have been voting for a long time so I empathize with voters who are puzzled by it,” Brown said, speaking to reporters in Oakland, where he voted Tuesday morning. “I like the idea of a second look. You have a primary and then you get a second look over the summer and the fall and then you may change your mind. With ranked-choice voting it all happens at one time and people who voted for a first choice that doesn’t make it really don’t have a chance to scrutinize the top two candidates so, yeah, I don’t think it is a great way to pick candidates.”

The ranked-choice system lets voters rank their top three candidates. If no candidate wins a majority of first-place votes, less popular candidates are eliminated and voters’ second and third choices are distributed to the remaining candidates. San Francisco implemented ranked-choice voting in 2004, while Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro used it for the first time in 2010.

Supporters of ranked-choice voting argue that the system eliminates the need for costly primaries and run-off elections.

Oakland’s current mayor, Jean Quan, was elected in the city’s first ranked-choice election in 2010. Her rival, former State Senator Don Perata, received 40,224 first-place votes but still fell short of the majority needed to win outright. Quan, who received 29,206 first-place votes, surged to victory with 24,572 second- and third- place votes that were distributed to her as other candidates fell out of the race.

In this November’s ranked-choice election, Quan is competing against 15 other candidates.